Homemade Biscuits
Homemade Biscuits are so easy to make, and these are the fluffiest biscuits you’ll try – buttery and super soft! I’ll share my best tip for cutting them to get that impressive rise. This Biscuit Recipe has just six simple ingredients that come together fast, and there is no rising time required.
Homemade Biscuits Video
Biscuit Recipe
If you love homemade bread and fresh dinner rolls, but don’t like to wait for them to rise and proof, this biscuit recipe is for you. They’re perfect for any cooking skill level and taste way better than store-bought biscuits out of a can.
Ingredients for Biscuits
I love that this uses pantry and refrigerator staple ingredients.
- Flour – all-purpose flour works best for a tender crumb
- Baking Powder – use aluminum-free and make sure to sift if you see clumps in your baking powder.
- Salt and sugar – add just the right amount of flavor.
- Unsalted Butter – be sure it’s cold, right from the refrigerator. If you prefer to use salted butter, you will want to reduce the salt in the recipe.
- Half and Half – this is also called “light cream.” If you don’t have half and half, you can make it by combining equal parts of milk and heavy whipping cream.
Tips for the Best Homemade Biscuits
- Measure flour correctly – spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level the top. Read our post on how to measure ingredients.
- Dip your pastry cutter into flour between each cut. This will create a cleaner cut for a better rise.
- Cut Biscuits straight down. Don’t turn your cutter side to side and do not use a sawing motion. Cutting straight down is the KEY to help the biscuits rise better.
- Use cold butter. The key to making great biscuits is to use cold butter. We dice up the butter and then refrigerate it until ready to use. Cold butter will produce the fluffiest layers in your biscuits.
- Do not over-mix – once liquids touch the flour, mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Tools for Making Biscuits
The best thing about making homemade biscuits is that you don’t need any fancy equipment. Here are the tools we use to make the process super quick and easy:
- Baking Sheet – line it with a sheet of parchment paper
- Biscuit Cutter – we used a 2 1/2″ diameter round cutter. You can also use a knife or bench cutter to cut the biscuits into squares.
- Pastry Blender – to cut butter into the flour. You can also use a fork with wide tines, two knives, or a food processor (see instructions for this below).
- Mixing Bowl – this dough comes together in 1 bowl (we used a 4 qt).
- Wooden spoon or spatula – to stir in the liquid ingredients
How to Make Biscuits
- Dice butter – Cut into 1/2″ cubes and refrigerate until needed.
- Whisk dry ingredients – In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk until really well combined before adding butter and liquids.
- Add diced butter to the flour mixture and cut it into the flour until the largest pieces are pea-sized. It’s easy with a pastry blender.
- Add liquids -Pour in all the half and half at once and stir it in until the dry ingredients are just moistened then transfer to a floured surface. If the dough is too moist, dust the top with flour.
- Shape the dough into a rectangle and fold in half. Shape into a rectangle again and fold a second time. Shape dough into a 5×10″ rectangle and cut out 8 2 1/2″ diameter circles. You can pull together the scraps to form 2 more biscuits.
- Bake – Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 450˚F for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Brush hot biscuits with melted butter.
Pro Tip:
For the Softest Biscuits, be sure not to overmix the dough so it doesn’t develop gluten strands, which can cause the biscuits to be tough. Mix just until it comes together and you should still be able to see bits of butter in the dough.
Can I Make Biscuits in a Food Processor?
To use a food processor, pulse together dry ingredients, then add chilled diced butter and pulse just until the largest pieces are pea-sized. Add just 3/4 cup half and half and pulse only until combined.
What is the Secret to a good biscuit?
There are a few ‘secrets’ that are important for good biscuits. Make sure you don’t overwork the dough, cut straight down when you cut out your biscuits, and avoid overbaking.
Serve Biscuits with
- Gravy – there’s nothing more classic than biscuits and gravy.
- Jam – spread sweet jam over biscuits and enjoy them with tea.
- Honey Butter – we love how butter melts onto a warm biscuit
- Breakfast Sandwiches – break the biscuit in half and use it for a sandwich.
Make-Ahead and Storage
It’s easy to make biscuits in advance. You can prep them in advance and enjoy freshly baked biscuits in the morning.
- Overnight Make-Ahead Biscuits – Cut the biscuits, place them on a baking sheet, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Uncover and bake before serving. Bake the cold biscuits in a fully preheated oven.
- Storage – once the biscuits are cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature or up to a week in the refrigerator. Biscuits can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Homemade biscuits truly are easy and such a treat. These always disappear fast and are a hit with our whole family. The kiddos can’t resist a warm buttered biscuit.
Easy Homemade Biscuits
Ingredients
Method
- Dice butter into 1/2" cubes and refrigerate until needed.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Whisk thoroughly.
- Add diced cold butter and cut it into the flour using a pastry blender (or two knives or a fork), until the largest butter pieces are pea-sized.
- Add 1 cup – minus 2 Tbsp of Half and Half all at once and stir until mixture comes together and is mostly moistened. Do not over-mix.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface. If dough is very sticky, lightly sprinkle the top with flour.
- Pat dough into a rectangle then fold it in half and pat into another rectangle. Fold a second time and pat into a 5"x10" rectangle or 3/4" thickness. Dip a 2 1/2" round biscuit cutter into flour and cut out 8 biscults. Pull together scraps and form into a rectangle to cut an extra 2 biscuits.
- Place biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet 1-inch apart and bake at 450˚F for 12-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown and biscuits are baked through. While biscuits are hot, brush tops with 1/2 Tbsp melted butter. Transfer to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes then serve.
